Better MMA fighters: boxers or pro wrestlers?
The answer to this question depends on whom you ask. Of the many boxing fans that read this blog, they would tell you boxers are far superior athletes and many would destroy MMA fighters and pro wrestlers.
However, if you look at the history of MMA, you'll see that there is a huge list of pro wrestlers competing in it. To name a few, Ken Shamrock, Dan Severn, Kazushi Sakuraba, Brock Lesnar, Bobby Lashley, Kazuyuki Fujita, Giant Silva, Bob Sapp and the list goes on and on.
The lists of boxers are: Eric “Butterbean” Esch (77 wins, 8 loses, 4 draws), Ray Mercer (36-7-1), Marcus Davis (17-1-2), Chris Lytle (13-1-1), Anderson Silva (1-1-0), Don Frye (1-1-0), Alessio Sakara (6-1-0), Jens Pulver (4-0-0), Melvin Guillard (0-1-1), Mark Hunt (0-1-1), Yves Edwards (2-0-0) and Patrick Cote (0-1-0). This list consists of fighters that boxed before they fought in MMA.
I’m not including the list of MMA fighters that went into pro wrestling after or during their MMA careers: guys such as Josh Barnett and Tank Abbott. I believe many of them went into pro wrestling at the time because there was very little money to be made in UFC. Also, not included on the list are MMA fighters who boxed after and during their MMA careers -- a guy such as Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, who won a bronze medal in boxing in the 2007 Pan American Games, or Jorge Masvidal, who had one boxing match after a 6-1 record in MMA. Masvidal won a majority decision against a fighter with a 1-11-2 record.
When you look at the list of fighters you have two current champions, one from boxing in Anderson Silva and one from pro wrestling in Lesnar.
The pro wrestlers that are successful in MMA are guys that had collegiate wrestling backgrounds. Shamrock didn’t wrestle in college but he did train in catch wrestling (submission holds or hooks) before he fought in UFC. The only two that didn’t have a wrestling background were Sapp and Giant Silva, and both of them had disappointing MMA careers.
Many fans are discussing this matter because of the two latest additions to the MMA fighting world, professional boxer James Toney and ex-pro wrestler Batista. Some are wondering if either would make it in the octagon. I believe it’s really going to be hard for Batista because he doesn’t have a collegiate wrestling background and he’s not much of a brawler either. Batista got into a fistfight with another pro wrestler by the name of Booker T. in the locker room back in 2006. Those that witnessed the fight said Booker T got the best of the much bigger Batista. Booker T told TMZ.com that he doesn't think Batista can "match up" with some of the big boys in Strikeforce.
Toney and Mercer aren't the only former champions to want to fight in the octagon. Back in 2007, former world heavyweight champion Riddick Bowe was interested in training with Bas Rutten and trying his hand a MMA.
I think we can agree that an MMA fighter would have a difficult time boxing against a boxer in a ring, while a boxer would last a lot longer against a MMA fighter in the octagon. As for pro wrestlers, it depends on their previous background in collegiate wrestling. In pro wrestling they use some of the same moves as MMA fighters. They just don't have the force behind the strikes and moves.
What are your thoughts on who would make the better MMA fighter, boxers or pro wrestlers?
Boxing records are from http://boxrec.com.
Kevin Richardson has been a fan of mixed martial arts competition ever since UFC 3, when 600-pound sumo wrestler Emmanuel Yarborough was beaten by Keith Hackney. Kevin will cover the world of MMA — in Baltimore, nationally and internationally. He plans to take readers into the locker rooms and MMA schools, where they'll hear from local fighters and trainers. If you have a news tip or suggestions for the blog, please 
Comments
For the record, Dan Severn's pro-wrestling career began prior to his mixed-martial-arts career.
Thanks Ric, I made the change.
-Kevin R.
Posted by: Ric Gillespie | July 19, 2010 9:27 PM
I've always believed wrestling is the best background for MMA. Frankie Edgar, Brock Lesnar, Rashad Evans are a few recent champs that had wrestling backgrounds. Thats not including a few contenders such as Carwin, Sonnen, and Koscheck. GSP may not have a wrestling background, but it's what he uses to dominate his fights.
From what the champs have shown you though is boxing is the LEAST important part of MMA. As long as you have great wrestling and good jiu jitsu, you can become a championship. GSP and Brock come to mind. I believe GSP has a good standup, but he only uses his wrestling and his ground game to win.
Phi,
Some good points.
Kevin
Posted by: Phi | July 20, 2010 7:20 AM
Pro Wrestling isn't a sport, the comparison is pointless.
It has been proven a long time ago that wrestlers (real wrestlers) have an easier and faster transition into mma. The reason for this is simple, wrestlers can control their opponents.
Boxers have a lot of problems going into mma because of leg kicks and the ground game.
Ian, I never said pro wrestling was or wasn't a sport. That's a debate for another time and different blog.
You made some good points about wrestlers having the ability to control their opponents.
Kevin
Posted by: ian | July 20, 2010 7:47 AM
An even bigger knock on Batista is that he came from the world of professional weight-lifting prior to his 10 years as a pro wrestler (which started in his 30s). Even in the WWE rings, he did not stay injury-free. Batista will not make a Lesnar-sized impact on MMA. He would prove a lot of people wrong if he could even be as successful as Bobby Lashley. But, like Lesnar, he would certainly bring in a ton of pay-per-view buys. For that reason alone, I would be surprised if Batista isn't signed with Strikeforce.
As for the better MMA fighters, I think the more successful MMA transitions solely depend on motivation and dedication. In both cases, you have to forget most of what you know about boxing and all of what you learned from pro wrestling in order to succeed. However, I will say wrestlers with collegiate backgrounds have a good head-start so if you're taking a poll, my vote is for wrestlers.
Mr. Sarcasm
Great comments.
Kevin
Posted by: Mr. Sarcasm | July 20, 2010 11:31 AM
It's an interesting question, that's for sure. It's like asking who would be better at Rugby player: A soccer player or a NFL football player. The realty is that the athletes from both sports have significant strengths over the other, but it's difficult to say which skills are the most beneficial. Personally, I think the Pro wrestlers will have the advantage primarily because it's easier to take the fight to the ground than it is to keep the fight upright. Point being: the wrestler is more likely to be able to keep the fight in his comfort zone.
Posted by: The Fight Store Guy | June 27, 2011 9:25 PM